News

League of Legends Veteran LCS broadcaster Zirene surprises fans, leaves Riot Games By Olivia Richman Apex Legends Apex Legends developer talks new legend Octane, battle pass after leaks By Steven Rondina League of Legends IWillDominate reaches Grandmaster rank in under a week By Olivia Richman

Dota 2

OG boots iLTW off active roster, plans to announce new carry Steven Rondina OG once again finds itself without a carry player. The team announced on its Facebook page that it is parting ways with Igor “iLTW” Filatov. He returns to the roster of Espada, where he was loaned from. OG has been struggling to find a carry player since the departure of Anathan “ana” Pham in November. Though he helped the team hoist the Aegis of Champions at The International 2018 in …

Counter-Strike

Twitch streamer Shroud injured, requires surgery after scooter accident Steven Rondina The streamer and former CS:GO star seriously injured his left arm. Michael “shroud” Grzesiek’s was involved in a major road accident. Just days after hitting a major milestone on Twitch, the former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player landed in the hospital. Shroud alluded to being involved in a scooter accident on Twitter, and revealed shortly after that he required surgery on his left arm. While Shroud himself hasn’t gone into detail …

News

Shroud tops 100,000 subs on Twitch, quadruples Ninja’s sub total Steven Rondina Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has hit a big milestone. The popular streamer has topped 100,000 subscribers on Twitch. The moment came live on stream with Shroud celebrating the occasion with his fans, and the subs kept rolling in afterward. He added 10,000 more in the immediate aftermath. 2018 was a huge year for Shroud. Entering the year as a retired Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, he was still under contract with former …

News

Los Angeles Valiant part with head coach early in Season 2 William Davis The Los Angeles Valiant will replace the team’s coach after a slow start in Overwatch League’s second season. Valiant head coach Byungchul Moon has been relieved of his duties as coach before the completion of the new season’s first stage. A statement from Valiant general manager Michael Schwartz was short and complimentary towards Moon. “We want to thank Coach Moon for his contributions to the Pacific Division and Stage 4 …

News Shanghai Dragons taunt way to victory over London Spitfire By Olivia Richman Counter-Strike FACEIT and Pinnacle partner for ECS Pinnacle Cup By Jared Wynne News Overwatch League celebrates International Women’s Day By Olivia Richman

Fortnite

FlyQuest releases Fortnite pro Tinny for alleged domestic violence Steven Rondina Fortnite pro Tinny is at the center of an ugly controversy. The British player has been officially released by esports organization FlyQuest following allegations of physical and mental abuse by an ex-girlfriend. The team announced the news in a statement on Twitter. “We want to follow up in regards to the situation arising yesterday involving one of our Fortnite players,” said FlyQuest. “After investigating and discussing with the player in question, …

Counter-Strike

ChrisJ hints at signing with BIG in social media posts Steven Rondina Chris “chrisJ” de Jong could soon have a new home. The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star and longtime member of Mousesports took to social media and teased that he has signed with a new team. Though he did not explicitly state where he is headed, his post on Instagram stated “BIG news coming this week” and included a German flag. These two things suggest ChrisJ is headed to BIG. BIG making …

Fortnite

Ninja signs exclusive deal with gaming agency Loaded Olivia Richman Fortnite phenomenon Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was recently signed to management firm Loaded. The firm, which focuses primarily on gaming influencers, also added popular streamers Ben “DrLupo” Lupo and Jack “CouRag” Dunlop to its roster. All three are best known for streaming Fortnite, creating content along the way that cumulatively reached over two billion views across Twitch and YouTube over the last year. Ninja himself has over 13 million Twitch followers …

Counter-Strike

Ninjas in Pyjamas brings back Draken to replace Dennis Steven Rondina Dennis “dennis” Edman is taking a step back from competitive Counter-Strike. Ninjas in Pyjamas announced that dennis would be taking some time off due to health concerns following the 2019 Katowice Major. He will remain a member of NiP, with William “draken” Sundin returning to the team as a stand-in. The severity of his condition is unknown, with NiP stating on its website that dennis was “experiencing some energy fatigue …

TNC Predator defeats Keen Gaming to win WESG 2019 gabhernandez Dota 2 TNC Predator finished off a dominating run at the World Electronic Sports Games tournament despite a recent roster shakeup. Carlo “Kuku” Palad was banned from attending the tournament in Chongqing, while former captain Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr. had departed from the team. To complete its WESG lineup, TNC Predator had to bring in on loan Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto and Nico “eyyou” Barcelon from Lotac. The Filipino team proved …

Team Liquid’s Call of Duty roster moves on to Apex Legends Olivia Richman Apex Legends Team Liquid’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout team has moved to Apex Legends. The esports organization’s Apex Legends roster now consists of four players: Brenden “Casper” Marino, Gage “Caliburn” Meyer, Thomas “Flankxr” Cook, and Tanner “Rogue” Trebb. Despite Apex sporting three-person teams, Liquid has announced that they’re looking to add even more players to their new roster. A Proving Grounds initiative has been announced, calling all skilled players …

Vici Gaming defeats Gambit, wins StarLadder ImbaTV minor Steven Rondina News Vici Gaming is going to the Stockholm Major. Competing in the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor, the Chinese team stormed its way through the field and captured first place at the event, last defeating Gambit Esports. That victory earns Vici Gaming the 16th spot in Stockholm, and 150 qualifying points towards The International 2019. Vici’s run in Kiev started with a dominant showing in the group stages. Despite competing in …

OG wash out of group stage at the StarLadder Minor Steven Rondina Dota 2 Struggles continue for the defending TI champions. Entering the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor following a string of rough outings, OG was dealt another tough blow. Despite entering as one of the favorites to win the tournament, OG washed out of the event with a fifth-place finish after failing to advance out of the group stage. OG’s minor run started with a showdown opposite Russian stack Old but Gold. Though …

Valve officially closes video storefront on Steam platform Fariha Bhatti News A recent update to the Stream news page has brought the closing of Valve’s video store. The update to services provided will prevent the purchase of new videos and remove non-gaming videos from the Steam storefront. Changes are set to be implemented over the coming weeks in what has been dubbed a “refocus” by Valve. The company informed the public that the decision to close the video store had been …

Fortnite dance lawsuit dropped by Alfonso Ribeiro, 2 Milly Steven Rondina Fortnite Fortnite publisher Epic Games has cleared its latest legal hurdles. According to multiple reports, actor Alfonso Ribeiro, rapper 2 Milly, and social media personality “The Backpack Kid” have dropped their lawsuits against the company. All three popularized dance moves that were later used as Fortnite emotes. The trio were suing developer Epic Games, claiming it infringed on their right of publicity under California law and infringed upon copyrights by including …

China set to establish a national Esports Work Council Olivia Richman League of Legends The China Internet Association has announced its plan to implement an Esports Work Council. At a Digital Esports and Intelligent Economy summit in Beijing, the China Internet Association met with political officials and multiple Chinese companies related to esports. It announced plans to create an Esports Work Council, which will promote, reinforce, and standardize the country’s esport industry. It will also combine esports planning with China’s existing education strategies to …

Lee Sin master InSec officially retires from pro League of Legends Olivia Richman League of Legends Although Choi “InSec” In-seok is sad about his retirement from League of Legends, he ends his career knowing he made an impact not only on his fans, but on the very game he played. InSec is known for his innovative mastery of jungle champion Lee Sin. InSec became so associated with the champion that there is an in-game strategy named after him: The InSec Kick. It’s a move that uses …

Cloud9 becomes first esports team sponsored by AT&T Olivia Richman News Cloud9 has been chosen for AT&T’s first esports team sponsorship. Shiz Suzuki, who works in sponsorships and marketing for AT&T, spoke to the passion of Cloud9’s fans as the driving reason for the company’s choice. “We wanted a team with a crazy passionate fan base, the real folks that just love their team,” Suzuki said. The terms of this new deal give AT&T presenting rights to Cloud9’s new weekly digital …

Ninjas in Pyjamas find first victory of the year in Dota 2 gabhernandez Dota 2 Ninjas in Pyjamas has racked up its first tournament win this year. Although the team has remained steady, it took five months for NiP to chalk up another tournament win. This latest victory came after a semifinal invite to the recent WePlay! Dota 2 Tug of War: Radiant event. NiP played in the western bracket along with Vega Squadron, OG, and Team Singularity. The TI8 champions at OG were knocked …

G2 Esports sends Bodyy to bench, welcomes LDLC’s Amanek Steven Rondina Counter-Strike G2 Esports is looking to reestablish itself as a heavyweight in the European Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene. Following a tumultuous 2018, the team took the next step in rebuilding its roster by benching longtime rifler Alexandre “bodyy” Pianaro. Replacing him will be François “AMANEK” Delaunay. Bodyy is one of G2’s most enduring talents. Joining in 2016, he helped the French organization become one of the most powerful forces of its …

First big balance patch changes Wingman, Pathfinder in Apex Legends William Davis Apex Legends Apex Legends has its first big balance patch, and it includes some major changes. The biggest adjustments featured in the patch are changes to the popular Wingman and the dominant Peacekeeper shotgun. In addition, developer Respawn Entertainment is changing the hitboxes for larger characters in Season 1. The Wingman will be adjusted to no longer be the unstoppable force it has proven to be at both professional and casual levels …

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